Trump Administration Rejects Rule Protecting Endangered Sea Creatures

On Monday, the Trump administration rejected a new rule that was intended to protect endangered whales and sea turtles against getting caught in fishing nets along the West Coast.

Although this seems like a clear issue, the administration believes the existing protections are fine just how they are.

Michael Milstein, a spokesman with the federal fisheries service which abandoned the new rule, claimed that economically, the new rule would have “a much more substantial impact on the fleet than we originally realized.”

In 2015, the Pacific Fishery Management Council made up of fishing industry representatives, state and tribal governments as well as federal regulators, proposed the rule in an attempt to keep the endangered sea animals safe.

The statute, which would have applied to less than 20 fishing vessels that use mile-long fishing nets intended to catch swordfish off California and Oregon, would have shut down the use of gillnet fishing for up to two seasons if too many whales, sea turtles and dolphins were getting stuck in the nets.

Fin, humpback and sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, leatherback and green sea turtles were among the endangered animals the regulation would have protected.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division, which rejected the rule, believed that the existing safety measures, such as putting warning devices on nets to turn animals away, were beneficial in cutting the numbers of whales and turtles getting caught in the fishing nets.

“The bottom line is this is a fishery that’s worked hard to reduce its impact,” Milstein said.

However, environmental groups which protested Monday’s decision feel entirely different.

Catherine Kilduff, who is a lawyer with the Center for Biological Diversity environmental group, claimed that any potential harm toward endangered communities of humpback whales and leatherback turtles is dangerous. One group of humpback whales already contains as low as 411 in total of their species.

“If they catch one, it’s a huge problem for the population,” Kilduff said.

Some environmental experts are even referring to the move as a declaration of “war” by the Trump administration.

“The Trump administration has declared war on whales, dolphins and turtles off the coast of California,” Todd Steiner, director of the California-based Turtle Island Restoration Network, said to the Los Angeles Times. “This determination will only lead to more potential legislation involving the fishery. It’s not a good sign.”

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